2007 Notorious: For the first time ever we have had to take a step back in production on the Notorious bottling. After hitting a high-water mark in 2006 with over 320 cases we only bottled 160 cases of the 2007. This is not because we did not think highly of the wines from 2007. The issue lay in the blending of wines in 2007 which proved to be more problematic than in past years. We just felt that we were experiencing difficulties blending Dundee Hill wine with Ribbon Ridge wine which are the two sources of wine for the Notorious bottling. Every time we put them together we felt that we were getting a wine that was in competition with its component parts. We ended up having to work with blends that were exclusive to either appellation. In the end we chose a combination of 5 barrels from Balcombe Vineyard and 2 barrels from Ana Vineyard.
This is, as always, our only wine that is made in 100% new Cadus barrels. As always this wine is a textural experience beyond any of our other wines. The richness of the wine, the lavish fruit, the spice and tannin from the barrels and the rigorous selection of the absolute best stuff results in a wine that is exotic, nuanced, layered, pleasurable and nearly hedonistic in its youth. This wine is especially age-worthy and will still be a vibrant, primary wine for many, many years in the cellar. The past three vintages have all received 92 points from The International Wine Cellar and we expect no less from this bottling. 160 cases bottled.
